# Favorite OTC blends



## wolfmanxiii (Sep 29, 2010)

Sorry if this has been done before...I want to know what your favorite OTC/drugstore blends are. Whether you mix different blends or what have you, in those cases where you can't get the really good stuff what do you reach for? Both aromatics and non-aromatics of course.

I recently tried Half & Half and I actually like the stuff. It's nothing special, but I could smoke it all day out of a cob. 
Captain Black original is what I smoked when I first started (about a year ago) and I haven't smoked it much since then, but I remember liking it.


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## mbearer (Jun 2, 2010)

Currently Prince Albert is my favorite OTC and gets a normal spot in the rotation. Sometimes straight sometimes mixed with Tambo...

I like Captain Black White and have a couple of the big tins of it on hand too. I smoke that more when there are alot of people around because it is always a hit.

You will get probably hear alot about Sugar Barrel on this forum thanks to Granger too  Still haven't opened my tubs if that yet... Need to get through the current PA Tub first. 
Mike


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## laloin (Jun 29, 2010)

I have a packet of Captain black white, that I smoked 1 bowl it ok, and a packet of PA that I haven't smoked.
Waiting for Granger to pop his head in to rave and rant bout the wonders of Sugar Barrel.
getting the popcorn ready mike, this ought to be fun hehehhe
troy


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## cherrymax (Jun 6, 2009)

Lately PA Choice is my go to smoke in the afternoons. Captain Black Royal is the favorite of a friend of mine. Oh to have more time to smoke in a day!arty:


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## Granger (Jul 24, 2010)

It seems I have been summoned to pop my head up....I get the feeling that I may have dropped one or more hints that I am IN LOVE with Sugar Barrel from John Middleton. I may be wrong, but I think many people on this list have given it a try...and so far I have not heard a complaint from anyone.

I discovered it by accident and now I am stuck on it.

I also have a soft spot in my heart for Dutchmasters Cavendish (Whiskey), but I have not found it anywhere some time. I still have some that I ordered from Mars.

I always have Captain Black White and Prince Albert around. I love to smoke PA and CBW...but not as much as Sugar Barrel.

Oddly, I have NEVER smoked Granger Tobacco. I have never seen it except in a tub and I don't feel compelled to buy 12 oz to try it. No one has ever said that much great about it.

Oh, and did I mention how much I like Sugar Barrel? It is a great tasting, mild aromatic that is not as sweet as the name implies. It has nice tobacco flavor with a hint of sweet.


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## Bunker (Jul 20, 2010)

I finally have a 2 oz bag of Sugar Barrel on the way from a fellow botl that let me add it to his 4noggins order (that flat shipping is a killer when you just want to try something).


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## hunter1127 (Jan 11, 2006)

St Bruno Flake...British OTC. Don't really like the american ones.


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## laloin (Jun 29, 2010)

too bad nobody in the states carries the British OTC like St bruno, or three nuns. only way your getting any of the British OTC is to either go, or have a friend who does business there.
Lucky for me I have a friend who goes to the UK on a regular basis and he gives me a packet of the three nuns all the time.
no it's not the same three nuns as what dublinthedam smokes, this comes in a packet.
troy


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## Diodon nepheligina (Nov 5, 2009)

Granger said:


> Oddly, I have NEVER smoked Granger Tobacco. I have never seen it except in a tub and I don't feel compelled to buy 12 oz to try it. No one has ever said that much great about it.


FWIW, if you ever order from mars, they have pouches of Granger.

Granger

Personally, my favorite OTCs are Prince Albert and Half&Half.


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## Granger (Jul 24, 2010)

Diodon nepheligina said:


> FWIW, if you ever order from mars, they have pouches of Granger.
> 
> Granger
> 
> Personally, my favorite OTCs are Prince Albert and Half&Half.


I am going to order some, and some Sail. I have never tried it. Oh, and look Middleton Apple. Damn, there goes this month's tobacco money!


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## juni (Oct 16, 2009)

MacBaren Scottish Mixture. "The worlds most sold pipe tobacco"


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## agony (Sep 27, 2007)

Prince Albert. I smoke this all day long in the summer. And it's my morning smoke in the car on the way to work, always in a cob.


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## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

In no particular order:

St Bruno, ready rubbed and flake
Sugar Barrel
Walnut
Prince Albert Choice
Granger 
Union Leader (gone but not forgotten)
Barking Dog (don't fear The Woofer!)
Revelation


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## doctorthoss (Jun 28, 2010)

My favorite OTC blends are Carter Hall and Prince Albert. I've also got a tub of Sugar Barrel but haven't gotten around to trying it. Middleton's Apple is decent, but I think it's gone downhill over the past 10 years. 

If we're counting discontinued blends, I'd have to add Balkan Sobranie. It was an OTC here in East Tennessee through the mid-1990s (I could buy it at drugstores like Walgreens in both pouches and tubs). Now those were the days!


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## Granger (Jul 24, 2010)

dmkerr said:


> In no particular order:
> 
> St Bruno, ready rubbed and flake
> Sugar Barrel
> ...


I have bought the copy of Revelation from Payless and it is pretty good. Have you ever tried the Union Leader copy from Pipe Tobacco Place? (Union Leader)

I know some folks who lived on Union Leader.


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## wolfmanxiii (Sep 29, 2010)

Wow, a lot of replies and useful info in such a short period! Keep em' coming guys!

BTW Granger, I actually already read a post of yours before regarding Sugar Barrel and since then it's been at the top of my list of OTC's to try out, but I'll have to order it since they don't sell it around here.

I've been interested in trying Captain Black Royal as well, but can never find it locally only White, Gold, and Light.


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## juni (Oct 16, 2009)

I hear good things about Lane 1Q, but we don't have it here.


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## laloin (Jun 29, 2010)

don't bother with sail brand, that stuff is gawd awful.
Granger got the thought of sugar barrel in my head, too bad my wad for TAD is spent already for the month.
oh well next month, rich at 4noggins is probley enjoying the great sales he's been getting from us tee hee
troy


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## Granger (Jul 24, 2010)

laloin said:


> don't bother with sail brand, that stuff is gawd awful.
> Granger got the thought of sugar barrel in my head, too bad my wad for TAD is spent already for the month.
> oh well next month, rich at 4noggins is probley enjoying the great sales he's been getting from us tee hee
> troy


I ought to email and find out if there has been a Sugar Barrel surge lately 

I tell you an OTC I miss, I used to smoke Amphora Red. Wish I could get some more.


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## BigKev77 (Feb 16, 2008)

I like PA but it has to be aired out a while to get rid of that weird blueberry smell.


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## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

Granger said:


> I have bought the copy of Revelation from Payless and it is pretty good. Have you ever tried the Union Leader copy from Pipe Tobacco Place? (Union Leader)
> 
> I know some folks who lived on Union Leader.


No, I buy C&D's Epiphany as a replacement. A little pricier, of course.

Union Leader is one of those great tasting but bitey OTC's. I have to be careful to smoke it slower than usual. Since I'm out, I'll have to try your suggestion - thanks for the tip!


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## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

wolfmanxiii said:


> I've been interested in trying Captain Black Royal as well, but can never find it locally only White, Gold, and Light.


CBR is available at virtually every pipe shop in the U.S. Stop into one and ask them what their shop name is for Lane's 1Q. Same stuff, except CBR has extra propylene glycol in it to keep it moist on the shelf and 1Q does not. Same recipe, both made by Lane. 1Q is the biggest selling pipe tobacco in the country.


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## wolfmanxiii (Sep 29, 2010)

dmkerr said:


> CBR is available at virtually every pipe shop in the U.S. Stop into one and ask them what their shop name is for Lane's 1Q. Same stuff, except CBR has extra propylene glycol in it to keep it moist on the shelf and 1Q does not. Same recipe, both made by Lane. 1Q is the biggest selling pipe tobacco in the country.


Thanks a ton for the tip...I called and reluctantly the owner told me the name of it and that they carry it (she's kind of secretive about that stuff for some reason; I don't think she wants people to know where she gets her bulk). Turns out I have a mason jar of it I've been kind of aging for close to a year. :biggrin:


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## Granger (Jul 24, 2010)

dmkerr said:


> CBR is available at virtually every pipe shop in the U.S. Stop into one and ask them what their shop name is for Lane's 1Q. Same stuff, except CBR has extra propylene glycol in it to keep it moist on the shelf and 1Q does not. Same recipe, both made by Lane. 1Q is the biggest selling pipe tobacco in the country.


I know where you can get the BIG BLUE CANS for around $28.

I had no idea that Lane 1Q and CB Royal were the same thing.

Learn something new daily!


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## gahdzila (Apr 29, 2010)

As a brand new pipe smoker, I can't contribute much, but here goes:

The only pipe tobaccos I've smoked so far are Prince Albert and Captain Black White. The PA is pretty decent...has a pleasant buttery taste to me, but is VERY mild to me (compared to my usual full bodied cigars). The CBW is a little sweeter and more flavorful to me.

I'm planning to check out Sugar Barrel at some point, as it seems pretty popular here.


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